The document WO2010072961 describes a die for manufacturing a tire mould, said die being produced by laser sintering. By virtue of this manufacturing method, the part to be manufactured can be modelled by computer and manufactured easily on the basis of this modelling. However, the document describes a one-piece element, the design and manufacture of which have to be revised as soon as an architectural or dimensional change is made to the final product to be moulded. Moreover, the large parts manufactured by this method are relatively expensive to produce, mainly because the base materials are specific to the manufacturing method.
The application WO2010096072 relates to a cast moulding method, useful in the context of manufacturing micro-textured objects. The introduction of a plurality of micro-patterns into the surface of an object makes it possible to add certain features to the micro-textured object, for instance an increase in hydrophobicity. Some of the casting and moulding methods described in that document make it possible to arrive at the manufacture of objects that have both macro- and micro-features, for instance micro-patterns inside or on zones having macro-features. The method described therein is used exclusively on curved surfaces.
The document US20020176792 proposes a method for manufacturing a mould segment for a pneumatic tire having a tread surface made of porous metal. A model of an annular tire segment made of refractory material is formed in this mould, with segments of the tire model which are used to fashion and form each segment of the tire mould from powdered metal, and by means of the application of heat and pressure for sintering the metal as per the tire model. Blades can be mounted in the segments of the tire model in order to mould slits in the tread of the tire.
There is thus a need for a solution that makes it possible to produce dies at a lower cost, making it possible to take into account both the changes to the end product and the increasingly stringent requirements relating to the characteristics of shapes, dimensions and precision of the various zones of the dies.
The invention provides various technical means for overcoming these various disadvantages.